Air Force JROTC

By: Douglas Castonguay

The ROTC program at LHS is a great way to keep yourself busy both during class and after school. The class is divided into two portions- Aerospace Science and Leadership Education. It's main goal is to teach students discipline, responsibility and leadership. You will also be given positions, if you decide to accept one, that will reinforce these qualities through practice.

The ROTC corps is completely cadet run. This year, I am the squadron commander, and I will be given a senior staff of three or four cadets and a junior staff of seven or eight cadets. We organize our own fund-raisers and community service events, and we assist in directing the parents at open house. We also serve at the Multi-Purpose Center's community Halloween party and are trying to get into the Relay for Life, a twenty-four hour walk-a-thon to raise money for cancer research. We participate in various community parades.

ROTC also has drill as an extra curricular activity. This is a routine of precision marching and rifle movements that keeps us busy and on our toes after school. Participation on a drill team is not mandatory, but it is a great way to make friends and have fun. Right now, we have five teams that compete. Three of them have placed second in the region, which covers Maine to Massachusetts, and which is where our competitions are held one Saturday of every month. The competition season runs from to November to March. Hopefully, we'll host the Regional Finals this year. The teams are run by a cadet commander rather than an adult coach, and we try to work around the extra-curriculars that everyone else participates in.